Directors & Designers

Linda Buchanan

Scenic Designer, Pride and Prejudice

Linda designs at theaters throughout the country and abroad. She has designed for the Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf, Court Theatre, Arena Stage, the Alley Theatre, Indiana Rep, Cleveland Playhouse, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Milwaukee Rep, Seattle Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Syracuse Stage, Yale Rep, Resident Ensemble Theatre, and many others. Buchanan’s work has been published in American Theatre, Stage Directions, Entertainment Design, Interior Design, and Contract. Recent work includes The Elephant Man (Resident Ensemble Players), Blues for an Alabama Sky (Court Theatre), The Tavern (Utah Shakespeare Festival), The Wizard of Oz (Syracuse Stage), and Lucio Silla (Buxton Opera Festival, UK). Notable past projects include the premiere of Marvin’s Room (10 regional productions, and commercial productions in New York and London), and the American premiere of House and Garden (Goodman). Buchanan received the Merritt Award for Design and Collaboration, Jefferson Awards for House (Goodman), Black Snow (Goodman) and I Hate Hamlet (Royal George), and a Helen Hayes Award for Dancing at Lughnasa (Arena Stage).

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Victoria Bussert

Director, Mamma Mia!, Beehive: The '60's Musical

Victoria Bussert returns for her thirteenth season at ISF, balancing the professional and academic worlds between her active life as an award-winning free-lance director while holding the position of Director of Music Theatre for Baldwin Wallace University. Nationally, her work has been seen at Manhattan Theatre Club, York Theatre, New World Stages, Goodspeed Opera, Playhouse Square, Portland Stage, Dallas Theater Center, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park and Anchorage Opera. Her international credits include Friar Tuck in Russia, The Who's Tommy in Brazil, the Danish premiere of Avenue Q (2012 Reumert Award nomination) and the European premieres of Lizzie and [title of show] for the Fredericia Teater in Denmark. This past February, Victoria made her London directorial debut with the critically acclaimed production of Lizzie. Other recent directing assignments have included The Hunchback of Notre Damefor ISF/GLT, Hair for Beck Center and West Side Story for BW. Many thanks to Charlie for his continuing support -- it's great to be back in Boise! victoriabussert.com

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Tracy Christensen

Costume Designer, Mamma Mia!

First season with ISF. Tracy recently designed Sunset Boulevard on Broadway starring Glenn Close, Carousel for the English National Opera in London, and the premiere of Kate Hamill’s Pride and Prejudice off-Broadway. Other projects: West Side Story for Carnegie Hall’s 125th Anniversary, Souvenir (Broadway), Hand To God (City Theatre), Abundance (Hartford Stage),Tribes (Barrington Stage), The Other Place (Alley Theatre), Guys and Dolls at Goodspeed Opera House (CT Critics Circle nomination), Sweeney Todd (starring Emma Thompson), Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill (HBO, starring Audra McDonald), Company (starring Neil Patrick Harris, for TheatreworksUSA (Lucille Lortel nomination). 10 seasons: Chautauqua Theatre Company. BS from Northwestern University and MFA from Rutgers/Mason Gross School of the Arts. Faculty: SUNY Purchase for costume design. Member of United Scenic Artists, Local 829. www.tracychristensen.com.

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Gregory Daniels

Choreographer, Beehive: The ’60s Musical

Gregory is thrilled to return to ISF for his fifth season, having previously choreographed Cabaret, Les Misérables, The Secret Garden, The Fantasticks, My Fair Lady and Forever Plaid. Credits include Cleveland regional premieres of In The Heights, Dog Fight, Carrie: The Musical, Spring Awakening, Lizzie: The Rock Musical and Sondheim on Sondheim. Other credits include Anything Goes, starring Tony Award nominee Dee Hoty; Putting It Together starring Tony Award winners Lillias White and Chuck Cooper; Dreamgirls, Hairspray and Hair. He also has had the rare honor of creating and choreographing a brand new number for the Rockettes. Greg is the head of the Dance Program at Baldwin Wallace University. Special thanks to my creative collaborating partner Vicky, Charlie, Jeff and the entire ISF family, and especially to my husband, Jared, and our son, DJ, for always making me laugh and being there for me with a smile, support and inspiration.

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Charles Fee

Director, Misery, Macbeth

27th season as producing artistic director of Idaho Shakespeare Festival. This season he will direct Misery and Macbeth. In prior seasons Charles has directed many of Shakespeare’s plays as well as works outside the Shakespearean canon including The Hound of the Baskervilles, Agatha Christie’s, And Then There Were None, Ira Levin’s Deathtrap, Frederick Knott’s Dial “M” for Murder, Nöel Coward’s Blithe Spirit, Private Lives and Hay Fever, George Bernard Shaw’s Arms and the Man, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, Oliver Goldsmith’s She Stoops to Conquer, Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, Molière’s Tartuffe, Alexander Dumas’ The Three Musketeers, and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) by Adam Long, Daniel Singer and Jess Winfield.Charles holds a unique position in the American theater as producing director of three, independently operated, professional theater companies, including Great Lakes Theater in Cleveland, Ohio (since 2002), and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival in Incline Village, Nevada (since 2010). His leadership has created a dynamic and groundbreaking producing model in which plays are shared among the three companies, extending the artistic lives of the productions, increasing opportunities for artists and technical staffs to work in multiple venues, and lowering production costs for each of the companies. He has worked with such companies as The Old Globe, La Jolla Playhouse, Milwaukee and Missouri Repertory Theaters, Actors Theatre of Phoenix, and the Los Angeles Shakespeare Festival.Idaho Shakespeare Festival has garnered significant awards under Mr. Fee’s artistic leadership, including the 1995 Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts; the 1996 and 2006 FUNDSY awards; and the 2000 Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. In 2001, Charles was honored for his work as a director with the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. He received his BA from the University of the Pacific, and Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, San Diego.Charlie’s peripatetic life style is only possible because of the love and support of his wife Lidia, daughter Alexa, and the communities he serves.

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Barry G. Funderburg

Sound Designer, Pride and Prejudice

Barry is thrilled to design his first show at Idaho Shakespeare Festival. Off-Broadway, Barry designed the New York premiere of Wittenberg at The Pearl Theatre Company. Regional theater design and composition credits include Fake, Carter’s Way and Mother Courage and Her Children at Steppenwolf Theatre Company; seventy-six productions at Milwaukee Repertory Theater, including the world premiere of this adaptation of Pride and Prejudice; thirty-five productions at Utah Shakespeare Festival; in addition to Alley Theatre; Actors Theatre of Louisville; Repertory Theatre of St. Louis; Kansas City Rep; Arizona Theatre Company; Clarence Brown Theatre; Resident Ensemble Players (Delaware); City Theatre Company (Pittsburgh); CenterStage (Baltimore); Alabama Shakespeare Festival; Peninsula Players; American Players Theatre; LA Theatre Works; and Indiana Rep. Chicago credits include Next Theatre, Writers Theatre, Mercury Theater, and Lookingglass. Barry has received two Chicago Equity Jeff Awards, a St. Louis Theater Circle Award, and an MFA from Purdue University. He is a proud member of United Scenic Artists.

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David Gotwald

Sound Designer, Mamma Mia!, Beehive: The ’60s Musical

Over the last three decades, David was the sound supervisor and mixer for numerous Broadway productions: A Chorus Line (1981), Dreamgirls (1983), Sweet Charity (1986), Cabaret (1988), Jerome Robbins' Broadway (1989), Crazy For You (1991), Fosse (1998), The Producers (2000), Gypsy (2007), The Addams Family (2009), and A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (2014). In 2006, David designed the sound for the Tony Award winning Jay Johnson - The Two and Only and the Off-Broadway hit The Musical of Musicals. He has worked as a concert sound engineer for Tommy Tune, Mandy Patinkin and Patti LuPone and for special events at The Brooklyn Academy of Music, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall and NY City Center Encores series. Currently, David is a faculty adviser at Carnegie Mellon University, and has designed numerous musicals for Great Lakes Theater and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. As a member of District 5 Sound he has designed for Bricolage Production Company and Quantum Theatre in Pittsburgh.

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Esther Haberlen

Costume Designer, Beehive: The ’60s Musical

Esther is thrilled to return for her 4th season at ISF after previously costuming: Much Ado About Nothing, LesMisѐrables, and The Fantasticks. Her work has been seen elsewhere at Great Lakes Theater, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival, Beck Center for the Arts, Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music, Case Western Reserve University/ Cleveland Playhouse MFA Acting Program, Chagrin Valley Performing Arts Academy, Cleveland Institute of Music, Cleveland Opera Theater, Cleveland Public Theater, Dobama Theater, and The Willoughby Fine Arts Association. Esther holds a BFA in Production Design from the State University of New York: Fredonia.

Joseph Hanreddy

Director, Pride and Prejudice

In four seasons with ISF, Joe has directed A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Wait Until Dark, King Lear and Richard III. Since leaving a long tenure as the artistic director of Milwaukee Repertory Theater in 2010, he has directed an Off-Broadway production of Molière’s The Misanthrope, several productions for the Utah and Door Shakespeare Festivals, as well as directing at People’s Light Theatre in Philadelphia, Writer’s Theater in Chicago, REP Delaware, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, Next Act Theatre in Milwaukee and returning regularly to direct at the Milwaukee Rep. His and J.R. Sullivan’s adaptations of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility have received more than 150 productions in the U.S. and abroad, including the Milwaukee Rep, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, South Coast Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse and other major regional theaters. Last summer, he directed the premiere of his adaptation of George M. Cohan’s The Tavern for the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Joe and his wife Jami live in idyllic Door County, Wisconsin.

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Jeff Herrmann

Scenic Designer, Mamma Mia!, Beehive: The ’60s Musical

Jeff is pleased to return to Idaho Shakespeare Festival for his 13th season as a scenic designer and his first season as production manager. Previous productions for ISF include Sweeney Todd, Cabaret, Bat Boy: The Musical, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Into the Woods,Les Misérables, The Secret Garden, My Fair Lady and last season’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, all joint productions with Great Lakes Theater in Cleveland. Other ISF production designs include I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, The Spitfire Grill, Little Shop of Horrors, Forever Plaid and Noises Off. Jeff holds an MFA in scene and lighting design from Southern Illinois University and he is a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829.

Alex Jaeger

Costume Designer, Misery

In four seasons with ISF: Deathtrap, The Taming of the Shrew, The Merry Wives of Windsor and Misery. Other credits include Mr. Burns for the Guthrie, Two Sisters and a Piano for the Public Theatre, A Parallelogram and Other Desert Cities for the Mark Taper Forum, Arcadia, Maple and Vine, Once in a Lifetime and many others for A.C.T. San Francisco. Alex also has been a long time collaborator with Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Magic Theatre in San Francisco, Utah Shakespeare and the Geffen Playhouse. Alex also designed the world premier of the new musical based on Dr. Seuss' The Sneetches for the Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis. Currently, Alex has a production of Hairspray playing at the Village Theatre in Seattle. He holds an MFA from UCLA and a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art. Alex is a member of USA 829.

Ken Merckx

Fight Choreographer, Macbeth

Mr. Merckx has worked with the Festival for 23 years and been choreographing fights for the company since the opening of the present site. Some highlights include; The Three Musketeers, Romeo and Juliet (three times), King Lear (twice), Macbeth (three times), Hamlet (twice), The Imaginary Invalid, Othello, Sweeney Todd and The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) (too many times to count). He has been staging violence on a regular basis for South Coast Repertory (Orange County, CA), A Noise Within (LA), Ensemble Theater (Santa Barbara), Great Lakes Theater (Cleveland) and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. Ken received his BA in theater studies from the University of Washington and MFA in acting from the University of Illinois and teaches stage combat at AMDA (American Music and Drama Academy) in Hollywood.

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Russell Metheny

Scenic Designer, Macbeth

For Idaho Shakespeare Festival Russell has designed The Tempest, Dial “M” For Murder,The Mousetrap,The 39 Steps, TheTwo Gentlemen Of Verona, The Woman in Black, Othello, The Seagull, The Comedy of Errors, Measure for Measure, Arsenic and Old Lace, A Tuna Christmas, Greater Tuna, King Lear, Love’s Labor’s Lost, Julius Caesar. Russell also has designed for Great Lakes Theater and Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival. Mr. Metheny has designed for many regional theaters across the country including Indiana Rep., Asolo Rep., Studio Theatre, D.C., ACT San Francisco, Maltz Jupiter Theatre, Goodspeed Musicals, Portland Stage.

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Jaclyn Miller

Choreographer, Mamma Mia!, Pride and Prejudice

Jaclyn is elated to return to ISF for her second season. She previously choreographed The Hunchback of Notre Dame and this winter tackled the Idaho Theater for Youth school tour premiere musical adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days... Regional credits: Guthrie Theater The Cocoanuts: A Marx Brothers Musical. In eight seasons with Oregon Shakespeare Festival: Sense and Sensibility (west coast premiere); Shakespeare in Love (U. S. premiere); Fingersmith (world premiere); Yeoman of the Guard; The Cocoanuts (world premiere adaptation); and My Fair Lady, Twelfth Night, TheTaming of the Shrew and Much Ado About Nothing. She also has worked extensively as an associate director and/or choreographer: Oklahoma! (OSF); Pirates of Penzance (OSF and Portland Opera); Priscilla Queen of the Desert (Gateway and Ogunquit Playhouse); Soul Doctor(Colony Theater and Parker Playhouse); 9 to 5 (Ogunquit Playhouse);Chicago (Ogunquit Playhouse); Joseph... Dreamcoat (Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma); She Loves Me (OSF).

Charlie Hilton Ray

Music Director, Beehive: The ’60s Musical

Charlie is thrilled to spend his first season with Idaho Shakespeare Festival! Previous MD/AMD credits include Lizzie at Playhouse Square, Hair at Beck Center for the Arts, Spamalot at Casa Mañana, among others. Credits as an actor include Jonathan in Tick, Tick… Boom!, Andrew Jackson in Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, and Franz in Rock of Ages. Extremely proud to be a part of Baldwin Wallace MT 2020 as an actor, composer, and music director. All credit to Vicky, Matt, and Beth. www.CharlieHRay.com

Kim Krumm Sorenson

Costume Designer, Macbeth

Kim is pleased to be spending her 23nd season with Idaho Shakespeare Festival. She designed Richard III in 1992 and has designed many productions since, including Hamlet, Twelfth Night, And Then There Were None, The Tempest (three times), Dial “M” for Murder, As You Like It (two times), Steel Magnolias, Blithe Spirit, The Mousetrap, The Seagull, Othello, The Crucible, Measure for Measure, The Spitfire Grill, Love's Labor's Lost, The Taming of the Shrew (two times), King Lear, Julius Caesar, The Importance of Being Earnest, Much Ado About Nothing, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Merchant of Venice, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Tartuffe and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Her work also has been seen at Great Lakes Theater, REP/University of Delaware, Urban Stages, Juilliard, TACT, Delaware Theatre Company, Boise Contemporary Theater, Playmaker’s Repertory Theater, Hartford Stage Company, Guthrie Theater, Intiman Theatre, George Street Playhouse, and Indiana Repertory Theater. Kim holds an MFA from Southern Methodist University and is a member of USA 829. Much love to Scott, Carly, Gemma, Liz and Rick.

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Kathleen Pirkl Tague

Dialect and Text Coach, Pride and Prejudice

ISF 14 seasons: Gertrude, Hamlet, Beatrice, Much Ado About Nothing, Barbara, Major Barbara, Lady Bracknell, The Importance of Being Ernest. Current acting company member at the REP, University of Delaware, where she also teaches classes in voice, speech and acting. REP roles include Things We Do for Love (Barbara), Wit (Vivan), Juno and the Paycock (Juno), Heartbreak House (Lady Utterword), The Glass Menagerie (Amanda), Death of a Salesman (Linda), and Mrs. Antrobus in The Skin of Our Teeth (Barrymore Award Nomination). Regional credits include Anna Christie (Anna) San Jose Rep, Titus Andronicus (Tamora) Intiman Theatre, Hay Fever (Judith) Great Lakes Theatre, The Play’s the Thing (Ilana) American Players Theatre, Our Country’s Good Madison Repertory Theatre, War Stories Milwaukee Rep, A Delicate Balance (Julia) Delaware Theatre Company, Waiting for Nirvana (Lou) Wilma Theatre, Before Breakfast Walnut Street Theatre and Translations (Sarah) Arden Theatre Co. Dialect, text and voice coaching: ISF, Great Lakes Theater and U. of Delaware REP.

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Jason Tate

Movement Special Effects Director, Misery

This is Jason’s second season with ISF, having last worked as the movement director for Love’s Labor’s Lost. Originally from Kentucky and now based in New York, his work has appeared onstage at Great Lakes Theater, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare, Classic Stage Company, American Repertory Theatre, the Metropolitan Opera, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, Ars Nova and The Lost Colony Outdoor Drama. Jason is a graduate of Florida State University, a certified instructor with the Society of American Fight Directors and a proud member of SDC.

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Matthew Webb

Sound Designer, Macbeth. Music Director, Mamma Mia!

Eight seasons. As music director: The Fantasticks, Sweeney Todd,Cabaret,The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Bat Boy, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. As sound designer: Hamlet. As sound designer for Shakespearience: Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing, and Macbeth. As music director for Great Lakes Theater: Forever Plaid, Guys and Dolls, and Sondheim on Sondheim. Matthew is music director of Music Theatre for Baldwin Wallace University. Many thanks to Charlie, Vicky, Sara, and his wonderful parents.